What HBO’s ‘Succession’ can teach us about advertising

As an abashed former News Corp employee (thankfully at HarperCollins, one of the Murdoch portfolio’s least-offensive holdings), HBO’s "Succession" is my straight shot of Sunday-night dopamine. The show’s great even if you aren’t attuned to the devastating, thinly veiled media and publishing world portrayals—but it’s a lot more fun for those of us who are. And watching through the eyes of a current ad guy, there are still a lot of professional lessons to take away from the savage, but often insightful, Roy family and their various hangers-on. In anticipation of the season coming to a close this Sunday, when we bid adieu to our favorite deliciously dysfunctional and unscrupulous family of one-percenters until next year, I bring you my favorite ad-world lessons learned and reaffirmed in the first two seasons of HBO’s latest tentpole show. What's the protein? Roy family patriarch Logan’s go-to phrase, “What’s the protein?” is quickly becoming my internal mantra in all sorts of daily situations. Logan’s a busy guy who shoots from the hip, so he needs a quick phrase that helps get to the meat of the matter at hand—or points out the lack of substance in a given proposition (like his daughter Shiv’s much-mocked family memo). “What’s the protein?” is great shorthand for stripping the BS out of the equation and weighing whether there’s real substance at the core of an idea or it’s just carbohydrate filler. I’ve toyed with “What’s the protein?” becoming my new go-to filter in... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'

[ Advertising Age | 2019-10-11 11:22:17 UTC ]
News tagged with: #nice reminder #parent brand #airtight positioning #ridiculous glut #streaming platforms #batting average #deliver non-stop #t-miss products #toughest test #warnermedia umbrella #three-dimensional chess-plotting #adland-relevant lessons #ad guy #hat tip #standout lines #publishing world #news corp

Other Publishing stories related to: ' What HBO’s ‘Succession’ can teach us about advertising '


Facebook to book NZ advertising sales revenues here, not in Ireland

Facebook says it will book the revenues it earns from selling advertising to Kiwi companies in New Zealand in future. The change is part of worldwide move by Facebook to restructure its accounting and appears a major victory for policy-makers concerned about the way Facebook and many other... Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2017-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #major victory #sales made


How Publishers Can Control Their Own Political Advertising Destiny

Now more than ever is the time for local news publishers to come to the aid of their country. It's not the lack of disclosures or disclaimers that has enabled unscrupulous actors to run wild in our political system--it's the free-wheeling approach to ad sales that's wreaking havoc. The market is... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2017-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ad sales


Snapchat Spends Black Friday Serving HBO Ads to Every User on its Service

Snapchat users emerging from their tryptophan haze this morning will see a promoted story from HBO with a message telling Black Friday shoppers to stay home and watch "Game of Thrones" instead. The ad is the first since Snapchat began serving ads to go out to every user in the country.The ad can... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2017-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #promoted story #stay home #media partners


Innovation In Advertising Requires a New Perspective

We the ad industry need to move faster.When Apple's iPhone debuted in 2007, few believed it would lead to the disruption and opportunities it has created within mobile and adjacent spaces.Mobile phones went from single-purpose devices to, in some ways, being the operating system for how we go... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2017-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #move faster #operating system #watch tv #read books #amazing things #past decade


Cats, comics, a dash of David Bowie are this Portland personal finance entrepreneur's Kickstarter success

If the idea of sitting through a personal finance course or reading personal finance book makes your eyes glaze over, then Lillian Karabaic may have a solution for you. It involves cats. It involves indie comic book illustrators. It involves Ziggy Starbudget (her David Bowie-themed alter... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2017-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #david bowie #kickstarter success #personal finance


What Alexa and iCloud teach us about the power of a hub

Hubs are familiar in some contexts: the center that makes order out of chaos and that serves as the connector orchestrating multiple moving parts. A hub is where "it" all happens. We have strategically located airline hubs for major airlines in major cities, or networking hubs that connect all... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2017-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #major cities #stock exchange #central location


Facebook moves to block offensive terms from targeted advertising campaigns

Advertisers on Facebook no longer can use offensive search terms such as “Jew hater” and “how to burn Jews” to target specific audiences, the company said Wednesday. The new policy comes a week after ProPublica published a story demonstrating how advertisers could reach thousands of Facebook... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-09-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook moves #facebook users #propublica published


Advertisers on Facebook Can No Longer Edit News Articles’ Headlines, Descriptions

Facebook took another step toward protecting the integrity of news articles shared via links on the social network. In July, Facebook announced that non-publisher pages could no longer overwrite link metadata--such as headlines, descriptions and images--in Graph API or page composer, and it... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2017-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook announced #non-publisher pages #graph api #page composer


Pan Books at 70: Celebrating Authors, Their Sales and International Rights Success

'Always just a bit sexier and more exciting,' Macmillan's rights-powerhouse Pan Books observe a 70th anniversary with new Golden Pan honors. The post Pan Books at 70: Celebrating Authors, Their Sales and International Rights Success appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #70th anniversary


Gamegate Target Zoe Quinn Can Teach Us How to Fight Online Hate

Gamergate's first target has a new book that's part memoir, part manifesto, and all about combating online harassment. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2017-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #part memoir #part manifesto


Jim Field and Kes Gray | Oi success!

The author and illustrator behind two of the breakout picture books of the past few years return with a new title. Caroline Carpenter reports. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jim field


Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop faces new false advertising claims

Nonprofit group Truth in Advertising claims Goop is exploiting women by marketing products ‘as having the ability to treat diseases and disorders’Goop, the lifestyle and publishing company founded by Oscar-winning Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow, is facing new criticisms from an advertising... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #gwyneth paltrow


School Librarians Are Teaching Digital Citizenship

A number of librarians in schools across the country share insight on helping students safely and respectfully navigate the world of social media and technology. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #school librarians


Amazon rejects advertisement for Kapiti author's book for being 'too provocative'

Amazon has rejected a Kiwi author's advertisement for her debut novel, stating the cover and content is too provocative. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2017-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kiwi author


HBO says there's no evidence hack has infiltrated email system

The hacker group that took credit for breaking into HBO’s computer systems reportedly released new documents on Monday, including marketing materials and emails of an HBO executive. The premium pay-TV channel, owned by media company Time Warner Inc., reiterated late Monday that it does not... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Texas Indie Bookstore Day Deemed a Success

The first Texas Independent Bookstore Day set sales records at one Houston bookstore and was deemed a success at others across the state. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Comic book success

How Comic-Con has become an annual festival of costumes and comic books - and a multi-million dollar industry. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2017-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #annual festival


HBO’s Sheila Nevins Is Loving Every Minute of Her Book Tour

From the looks of the crowd at Michael's today, I suspect there were plenty of big doings being finalized in betweeen bites of Cobb salad. Attorney Bob Barnett was with Huma Abedin, Charlie Rose was huddled in conversation with Marie Josee Kravis on Table Four while CBS 48 Hours Mystery's Susan... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2017-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book tour #charlie rose


33 Major Publishers Are Promising Advertisers a New Level of Safety and Transparency

The Google-Facebook duopoly has proved to be less than perfect. Google's video platform, YouTube, has struggled to provide brand safety, and Facebook is still recovering--PR-wise, at least--from its late 2016 measurement woes. TrustX, a programmatic platform announced last September that... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2017-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #google-facebook duopoly #video platform